Cleater
James Meaders Sr. was born January 20, 1880, the third son
of John Milton
and Mattie Lambert Meaders. Cleater was around 12 years
old when the first Meaders Pottery shop was built. He began
by doing the work his older brothers didn't want to do. They
taught Cleater to make pottery; he in turn helped teach his
younger brothers.
In 1907,
on Christmas Eve, Cleater married Miss Lillie Glover. They made
their home on the northern end of Cleveland and built a shop.
It was located behind what is now the local Dairy Queen. The
couple had 9 children; many became potters in later years.
Cleater
was the only son of John and Mattie Meaders to use a stamp to
mark certain pieces of his work. Known for incising lines around
the top of his churns, this improvement told how many gallons
the churn would hold. He worked in his shop until his death
in 1934.
One interesting
fact concerns Cleater and his wife Lillie. Cleater died on Dec.
22, 1934; Lillie passed on Dec. 22, 1954. Both were buried on
Christmas Eve, the couple's Anniversary. Cleater and Lillie
are buried at Mossy Creek Methodist Church.
Cleater
Meaders
